Broken Trio
by revolutionrk
Summary: At the start of the zombie apocalypse, three friends escaped together. But their feelings meant that they were all broken apart. With Miles leaving and returning years later to find his best friend Bass married to the love of his life, Rachel, things will get pretty complicated.
1. Life now

Chapter One

Ever since the apocalypse started, there had been drama between Rachel, Bass and Miles.  
Five years. It had been five years to this day that the whole mess started and their lives changed forever.  
The three had always been extremely close, they always helped eachother through the hard times, were there for them in the best of times. But who knew that an apocalypse could shatter the trio into a million pieces?

When it started, they managed to escape together out of the city, attempting to scavenge and find shelter, but after a month had gone by, they struggled to actually find shelter and supplies, leaving them vulnerable – for the walkers, and for the survivors.  
Each of them knew that they had feelings for one another, they always knew. But it only took one night which changed their lives forever.  
After finding a barn for the night, Miles and Rachel had admitted their feelings to eachother, starting with _"I love you"_ and ending with a passionate night when they were sure Bass had gone out to find supplies.  
But, of course, over the coming weeks, something changed about Rachel, and Bass hated it all. He hated that Miles got the girl he'd loved for years and he resulted to nothing. So he framed his best friend to make sure he'd leave and never come back. And that's what happened.

Daylight was beginning to break through the curtains when Rachel woke. It was a pretty sight when the sunlight shined onto the white bedcovers, leaving a ray of glimmer in its wake.  
Rolling over onto her side once she woke, the Blonde was greeted with a rough hand wrapping around her waist and pulling her close.  
"Good morning, beautiful." The voice of her husband was soft and quiet, softer than his best friend's ever was.  
"Morning, Bass." Rachel replied in a whisper, leaning her head round to peck his lips, grinning subconsciously.  
It was strange, everything seemed so _normal_ that morning. Like they just lived a normal life with a normal family. They had found a safe zone a year back, and it was safe enough, but it was far from normal.

Moving to sit up, Rachel tucked some of her golden hair behind her ear and groaned. She always had hated waking up early, especially when she felt there was no need to. But she needed to check on the kids, they would be waking up soon.  
Danny and Charlie. Her son and daughter. They were only tiny, but strong and smart, just like Rachel was when she was of that age.  
Especially Charlie. She was only four but could read, count, she knew what to do when there was trouble. She could certainly fight, which was demonstrated the other evening when Bass had succumbed to a cut lip from their play fighting. When Rachel thought about it… Charlie was just like Miles. Bass didn't see it like that. He still had hatred towards his 'best friend' which wasn't going to go away. Charlie was his little girl, his angel.  
Danny was definitely more like Bass. He wasn't strong like his sister, and he succumbed to breaking down and getting emotional over the littlest thing. He was scared, and all Rachel wanted to do was comfort the two kids, and tell them that everything was going to be okay, but she couldn't lie to them. He was younger than Charlie, being only just two now, but grew to be more and more like Bass every day.

Feeling the arm which held around her pulling her back to the bed, she felt the warm breath on her neck and the soft stubble which tingled her neck when he nuzzled into her. She sighed softly, keeping her eyes open, glancing down at her husband's hand which was bigger than hers, resting on her flat belly.

"I've got to get up, Bass." The sound rang through Bass' ears and caused him to let out a gentle groan, expressing how much he just wanted to stay in bed for a minute longer with her.

"No, you don't. Stay, Rachel." His forceful voice came out just louder as a whisper as he tightened his grip around the fragile woman, begging her to stay there with him.

"I need to check on Danny and Charlie." Rachel replied after a pause, forcing his hand from around her and climbing out of bed, wrapping her own arms around her slim frame and heading out of the room quietly, and into the children's bedroom.  
Bass growled from his throat, moving to lay on his back and punch the headboard, becoming angry that Rachel didn't even want to lie with him. Why does she worry so much about the kids? What about some alone time? Isn't that what married couples are fucking supposed to do?  
All those thoughts rang through his head, causing him to rub his eyes, laying an arm across his face as he shook his head softly.

The door opened with an almost silent creak when Rachel entered the room.

"Mommy," Rang a tiny voice from inside the room, in the corner where a delicate bed stood, with purple covers and a fluffy white cushion which had turned a little grey now, from the amount of times Charlie had given it to Danny to cuddle in the night when he was scared.

"Morning, sweetheart." Rachel tiptoed over to her daughter's bed, sitting down on the edge as she leaned over, pressing her lips to the top of Charlie's head. Charlie leaned into her, cuddling her for a second before letting go.

"Danny got scared again last night. He cried again, and I had to help him get back to sleep. I was going to come and get you but he fell asleep a bit after." The young girl's voice came out as a gentle whisper, her gaze settling on her dozing brother in his own tiny bed at the other end of the room.  
Frowning, Rachel stood up and headed over to her son's bed, leaning over to kiss his forehead to which he responded by waking up and waving his arms around.

"Hey, angel, it's only mommy." Rachel whispered, lifting the small boy up into her arms and rubbing his back. "Let's go get some breakfast."  
Charlie immediately jumped out of bed and followed her, running down the stairs, two at a time, with her mother and her little brother following her. After she arrived into the kitchen, she leaped onto a chair which was sitting next to the wooden table on the left in the room.

"What would you like? Cereal, fruit—" The blonde was cut off by a knock on the door. She pursed her lips. No one was ever knocking on their door this early, if at all. Quirking a neatly-trimmed eyebrow, Rachel left Danny to scramble onto a chair and headed to the front door, glancing back at the children as she walked. Settling her hand on the handle, she pulled it, revealing a sight that she never thought she'd see again.

" _Miles?"_


	2. Return

Rachel stood in shock as she looked into the face of the man who once had her heart. She most likely looked absolutely ridiculous just staring at him. But she didn't quite believe it. Rachel almost felt like she was in a dream.

"Looks like I got the right house." Miles said with a charming grin. His voice, it was so familiar. Rachel couldn't help herself as she pulled him into a hug.

The hug felt so real, so unbelievably real. "What the hell are you doing here?" Rachel asked. It had been years since they last held one another, Rachel couldn't even remember. "How did you find us?" She let go of him and looked at him with eager eyes.

Miles chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Lots… and _lots_ of searching."

"Well come in!" Rachel opened the door wider to invite him in. Miles hesitantly stepped inside and took a quick glance around the entry-way of the house. Almost immediately Charlie came running down the hallway and began to tug on Rachel's arm.

"Mommy! Danny needs your help!" Charlie whined and continued to yank on her arm. Rachel glanced down the hall to see Danny still struggling to get in the chair.

Rachel let Charlie lead her into the kitchen and motioned for Miles to follow. "Need help little man?" She bent down slightly to pick up her son and placed him gently down into the chair. Charlie jumped back into her chair and demanded for a bowl of cereal. Rachel reminded Charlie to be kind when asking for things and grabbed her box of cereal.

Placing Charlie's breakfast in front of her she asked Danny if he wanted a bowl of fruit. He nodded and she gladly began slicing up bananas. "You want anything, Miles?" Rachel asked as she put the slices into a bowl for Danny.

"No, I'm fine." Miles replied quickly and smiled at Charlie who was now half way through her breakfast. "You seem like you got your hands full."

Rachel sighed with a smile and gave the bowl of fruit to Danny and brushed his hair out of his face before he started in on his breakfast. "Some mornings are worse than others." She smiled and leaned up against the counter.

Miles nodded and glanced down the hall. "Bass here?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah." Rachel nodded. "He's upstairs." A soft smile still lingered on her lips.

Miles looked down at his shirt and pants. "I'm sorry, I probably look disgusting." He apologized sincerely. Noticing his shirt was stained with blood and other marks from being out in the world.

"He's gonna bring dirt into the house!" Charlie yelled through a mouthful of cereal. Danny whipped his head over to Miles and laughed sweetly. Miles couldn't help but smile at the two children. They resembled their mother quite a bit it was almost scary.

"Its alright, Charlie." Rachel attempted to calm her down. "We'll let him wash up when daddy's done." She added.

"Why is he here?" Charlie asked. Rachel realized she hadn't introduced Miles to her children amidst the chaos of preparing breakfast.

Rachel smiled at Miles and then looked back at Charlie. "This is my good friend, Miles." She explained. "And he's decided to stop by for a visit." Although, he was much more than a friend. They had a very complicated past full of heartbreak and unconditional love. Miles was, in fact, Charlie's father. But nobody knew that. Not even him. Rachel was the only one who knew and she intended to keep it that way.

Miles smiled again at Charlie and she smiled back at him and then started in again on her cereal. "They're beautiful, Rachel." He said softly and watched the children eat.

"Thank you." Rachel said, still not believing that Miles was standing in her kitchen. After a few moments of them watching Charlie and Danny Rachel spoke up again. "Once Bass is done I'll lay out a clean outfit for you and you can go ahead and wash up."

"Sounds fantastic." Miles said fanaticizing about actually being one hundred percent clean for a change.

Rachel smiled and poured herself a glass of water. "You'll have to tell me everything once you're all clean and these two go down for a nap." She nodded in particularly in Charlie's direction. Who had proven to be quite a handful already.

"Sure." Miles nodded. "If Bass doesn't kill me for being here first." He grinned. But was actually genuinely afraid of what bass was going to do when he found out he was here. They left things on pretty poor terms the last time they had seen one another. A lot of confusion and a lot of anger. But Miles hoped he managed to put all that behind him. He did get the girl after all, what more could he want?

"What the hell is this?" A very angry voice growled behind Miles and he spun around to face his old friend.


	3. Trouble

There they were. Two old friends face to face. To describe it as awkward would be an understatement. Bass was simmering with anger and rage, and _jealousy_.

"Hi, Bass." Miles replied simply. He didn't want to enrage him any more than he was already. Bass paused for a moment, his gaze flicking towards his wife, raising an eyebrow, and then back to Miles. He let out a pissed off laugh and shook his head, before looking back at the man, a look of disgust now plastered across his features.

"Why are you here?" The smaller man spoke, crossing his arms. The question was half directed at Rachel, who stood behind Miles, worried about what Bass might do now. Rachel stepped forwards, placing a hand on Miles' arm to pull him back a step, away from Bass.

"He's just come to visit. He needs somewhere to –" Rachel was cut off then, by Bass interrupting her with a counter point.

"He left us, Rachel. He left without a second glance. Why should I let him into my home? We don't owe him shit." He spat, turning his attention back to Miles with a shake of his head.  
Hearing him swear made Rachel uncomfortable. She needed to get the kids out of there before something bad happens. Not saying another word to Bass, she turned, picking up Danny from the seat and taking Charlie's hand.

"Let's go play upstairs for a little while." Rachel suggested, to which Charlie replied with a quick nod of her head and she let go of Rachel's hand, running ahead and upstairs with her mother and Danny following her.

"Bass, I don't want any trouble. I'm sorry about before, I truly am." Miles raised his hands in surrender, trying to keep the peace between them.

"We were brothers, Miles. And you fucking killed that family. Then when Rachel found out, you left us. You went off on your own like the selfish son-of-a-bitch you are." Bass was enthused with rage now. Rachel didn't know about how Bass had set him up for that crime, but Miles saw through the plan since the beginning. Though, if he had accused Bass, shit would have gone down and made everything worse. He would have lost Rachel either way.

Rachel could hear them gradually becoming louder from all the way upstairs. She wanted to stay with the kids for a while so they wouldn't get scared. And besides, if she was down there it would probably make things even worse.  
The blonde walked over to a small wooden box which sat in the corner of the nursery, pulling out a Barbie doll and a small toy car for each of the kids. Toys were hard to come by now, but they had a small stash in the toybox and usually found at least one for each of the kids' birthdays. They tried to keep living like before the whole mess started, as they didn't want the kids to be raised in that shitty world. They wanted Charlie and Danny to have childhoods, the same as them.

Charlie grabbed the toys, moving to sit on the ground beside Danny. She carefully handed her brother the car and began to show him the Barbie, pointing out her clothes, showing him how to brush her hair. Rachel felt so lucky that the kids didn't constantly fight. She got stressed taking close care of them as it is, with the added dangers outside piled on top of that, the need to survive and the scavenging, and constant supply runs.

"We both know I didn't do that." Miles spoke up again, a little angry that Bass was _still_ trying to frame him for that family's death. He began to clench his fist but then realised that getting worked up was exactly what Bass wanted, and he wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.  
"Look, I'm back now. Can't we leave the past behind us, Bass? Don't do it for me, do it for Rachel." He attempted to persuade him to let him stay around. Not for him, but for Rachel. He couldn't leave her again.

Hearing the mention of his wife's name enraged Bass, and he raised his arm, taking a swing at him, punching him square in the face, knocking Miles back and giving him a bloody nose. Bass yelled out when he punched his old friend, causing Rachel to hear, and run down the stairs to see what the hell was going on.

"Bass, what the hell?!" She exclaimed, sprinting into the kitchen. Miles was just about to swing back before he saw Rachel appear, and then he couldn't bring himself to do it. Bass realised that this was the perfect opportunity to assert his dominance and threw another punch at Miles, holding his other arm out so Rachel couldn't get past.

"Miles!" Rachel exclaimed as he dropped to his knees.


End file.
